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Plants for shady, under tree area

sharon.gray311sharon.gray311 Posts: 9
in Garden design
Hi - I'm in Bristol and have some nice wide borders in my new house. They are clay but I'm bit by bit improving it with compost and grit to loosen it up.
I have this area in the corner, very shady and under my elderberry tree.  I can see the weeds will take over pretty quickly so I wanted to know if there is anything I can plant here to brighten up the corner?
I do have a couple of hostas already in in front of the tree but what could I plant around the back to give me ground cover and interest in this dark spot?

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Rotted manure and/or leaf mould will be a far better addition to your soil, and will also help to retain moisture there. It'll improve the structure and health of the soil, Good mulching when the soil's wet will also be helpful   :)
    When you say 'around the back' do you mean right round the shrub?
    If so, that's quite difficult, but you could try things like Ajuga, which will cope no problem. I use Saxifraga urbium [London Pride] for spots like that, but if the ground is very dry through summer, that may struggle. It's fine here, but I know some people in very dry areas find it struggles if the soil's dry long term. That's where the manure/leaf mould would be useful  ;)
    I also use things like Erythroniums. They like moister soil in winter, but a bit drier through summer when they're dormant.
    Epimediums and Brunnera should also be fine. I have Iberis [perennial candytuft] in shady areas. You could try Convallaria [lily of the valley] too, and white, or pale, hardy geraniums will be fine. 
    If those are shoots coming from the base of the elderberry, you could remove those to keep the trunks clear, and that will help too - less competition etc.  :)

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    I use Euphorbia amygdaloides robbiae in tricky areas like that.  It’s evergreen and has attractive lime green flowers in early spring.  Good ground cover without being invasive.
    The milky white sap can be a skin irritant for some people, so take care when pruning off the dead flowers later in the season.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    As well as some of the plants mentioned, I have geranium macrorrhizum.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    Geranium phaum grows well in my garden under a tree.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I would try one of the variegated Euronymus, either the green and yellow leaved one or the green and white one (which personally I prefer). Undemanding, evergreen, can be clipped to size.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    Liriodendron muscari, Bergen is purpurea, Hakonechloa and Uncinia Rubra are all happy in dry full shade underneath a large old laurel tree in our garden

    Oh and Aster divaraticus is also happy
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • TheGreenManTheGreenMan Posts: 1,957
    If you wanted something to grow amongst the perennials/shrubs in that spot you could plant some woodruff. 

    It creeps along like mad but is very easy to pull out of it ends up in places you don’t want it. 


    A lush green carpet, pretty white flowers and it smells good when dried. 
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